Ford Explorer: '01 Explorer Sport stall problem

Hi all,

Just thought I'd post my problem here and see if maybe someone else has
run into/heard of a similar issue. Any and all suggestions are
appreciated.

My truck is a 2001 Explorer Sport, 4WD, 4.0L 6cyl 5-speed automatic.
Fully loaded minus leather seats and engine block heater. Currently it
has about 42,000 miles. on it.

My problem cropped up about a month ago, but only happened about 3 times.

I would start my truck, and it would immediately stall after ignition. At
first I thought maybe I was letting go of the key too quickly. I would
start it again, give the gas pedal a small tap, and it was fine.

About a week or so after that, the problem started happening nearly every
time I started the truck. At first, giving it a little gas after ignition
would do the trick, but then after a few more days, I'd have to keep my
foot on the gas for a minute or two to keep it running. (Maintaining
normal idle RPM of about 750-1000)

Then it got worse, and I started having to drive with both feet (using
left foot for brake) until after a variable length of time passed, and it
would run perfectly normal. (Thankfully my first 12 years driving were
spent in 5-speed manual vehicles.)

Now, it never "corrects" itself, and if I take my foot off the gas too
abruptly, it stalls. Odd thing is, if I lower the RPM slowly, it doesn't
stall, but it idles at almost 500 RPM exactly. This is about 250 RPM
lower than normal for my truck.

And just tonight, the CHECK ENGINE light came on for the first time. Of
course I've been checking everything since the problem first became
common, and everything I can check is fine.

I've followed the maintenance schedule to the letter, all of which has
been performed by the dealership. (I know, that could be the problem
right there. *sigh*.)

In any event, my first thought was that I needed some fuel injector
cleaner. I used two bottles of the STP stuff in the past 3 weeks, which
obviously didn't help.

My next thought is maybe the fuel filter needs changing. Who knows, maybe
the dealer didn't actually replace it at 36,000 miles, or maybe they put
in a bad one. I'll try that over the weekend.

I've also considered fouled plugs, but I've noticed no loss of horsepower
(not that my perception is any good rule of measure) nor misfiring. When
I'm out on the highway and can maintain RPM above 1000, it picks up when
it's supposed to, shifts as smooth as it did the day I drove it home, and
sounds completely normal.

My final thought is that something has gone wrong with the sensors or
control unit for the fuel system. Maybe it has become corrupted somehow,
and has adjusted the fuel system/idle speed improperly, or has failed
completely and isn't doing anything at all.

It's been a long time since I seriously worked on any cars or trucks, but
is a Stall Speed Converter still called that, and is it possible that
sensors for it have failed? It seems extra odd to me that if I ease down
on the gas, it will maintain idle at 500 RPM, but if I just let off the
gas completely, the rapidly falling RPM causes a stall.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any suggestions. As I said, I'm going to
try the fuel filter first, but I'm not too confident about it fixing the
problem.

Thanks again,

Godflesh

com (Peter) wrote in
news:google.com:
 



Here's the site I got the info from. Pretty straightforward to remove and
clean.

Good luck!

http://www.fixyourford.com/index.html

Godflesh